TiVo Bolt Vox DVR and Streamer Review

The surprise addition of the dedicated green Skip button brings up a bit of TiVo history. This functions similarly to the “D” button on the previous Bolt remote, and allows the skipping of an entire block of commercials for shows recorded from the top 20 most-watched channels that are recorded during prime time. You’ll hear a tone sound as soon as the commercials begin. You press Skip (or D), and the program instantly resumes where the commercial block ends. Having the dedicated Skip control represents a long about-face by TiVo, which initially only supported tape-like fast forwarding, then depended on independent web user groups to provide instructions on how to activate a buried 30-second quick-skip feature. Unfortunately, if your TiVo lost power, you had to reprogram the remote all over again. Finally, a 30-second quick skip button was implemented that lasted even if your TiVo unit lost power, and TiVo referenced it in the manual. So, seeing the Skip button finally appearing, along with having the entire commercial set book-ended for each block, represents something of a milestone.